~Review of the Winger Ft. Lauderdale Show Feb 11, 2007

15 Years ago I went to see Winger (arguably one of the 3 top bands of all time to influence my musical life alongside Giant and Damn Yankees) on that hot May night in Sunrise, FL I was with my closest long haired buddies of the day and the love of my life, Mary. After the show that night Mary and I broke up, it was literally our last date(sigh)...As for my friends,ironically enough, only one of my long haired buddies from back then remains in my life today here in Miami, that one friend is Julio (the others are either in Nashville or no longer in my life)...so last night Julio, myself and our buddy Dave attended the show in Ft. Lauderdale...ironically enough though, at the show last night, I met next to me in the front row of the concert, a very friendly and outgoing total stranger with the most beautiful eyes I've seen in a long time, she was a flirt (harmlessly) and we danced (banged our heads really) next to each other during the show, we also sang just about every word of every song they played at full volume so much so that I lost my voice..............her name? believe it or not...........she said Mary.............spooooooky. (It really wasnt Mary, I'm sure it was something else but that's what she said)

The show was at a tiny Ft. Lauderdale concert hall called The Culture Room, very small venue, yet the best possible place for a band to do their comeback show here in Miami...2 opening acts, Crooked Hat was the first and then there was the second one (I don't remember the name of it but they really warmed up the crowd)....then Winger came out....

So much has changed since the last show of theirs that I went to back in 91...the median age in that show back then was probably 23........last night, I'd say was probably 35...regardless, it was still rock and roll all the way...........I'll tell you one thing, the one thing has not changed in the least bit....Winger's ability to rock our faces off...the show started with Blind Revolution Mad from the Pull record (in my opinion their best record, completely eclipsed by Nirvana and Pearl Jam's success to all but the loyal fan base)...for the next one and a half hours they would proceed to do all of their hits and only played 3 songs from the new record...The body of the set consisted of Blind Revolution Mad, Can't Get Enough, Easy Come Easy Go, Rainbow In The Rose (Julio's answered prayer), You are the Saint I am the Sinner, Miles Away, Junkyard Dog (no Tears on Stone), Down Incognito (with Reb shredding the harmonica solo),

As I look back at all the years of being a Winger fan, I can't help but to think that one of the biggest absurdities of life is that these talented guys were cursed with being good looking guys and great entertainers, this made them the butt of many jokes back in the Beavis and Butthead days thanks in part to an idiot called Lars Ulrich who in all unbiased honesty could really use about 6 months of daily lessons from Berkley PROFFESSOR and University of Miami GRADUATE...Rod Morgenstein who is not only a drummer's drummer and dare is say? virtuoso but one of the humblest people you'll ever meet...He shredded a drum solo which not only featured his prowes as an incredible drummer but showed his versatility by playing a fusion tune from a project with educated musicians who have only mentioned Lars Ulrich while having ADT installing a home security system. These guys are musicians through and through, the kind of musicians that in all actuality were probably slumming by getting into the hair metal scene being that they are all legitimately trained MUSICIANS not HEADBANGERS.

Kip went back and forth between keyboards and bass guitar the whole evening...filling-in the large workboots that Paul Taylor left behind oh-so-long-ago...the boots he left on the stage the last night that I kissed Mary. I did notice something very cool, something that I had thought about for a long time..........the last time I saw them, my concert seats were not that good, and I always wondered if Kip could really play those very intricate and complicated bass lines live while singing at the same time...........well, last night I found out.....yes, he can. The other thing about Kip, his live voice has not left him in 15 years....he sounded incredible and hit all of the high notes at the right times (though I noticed that John Roth did help him out a couple of times on some crucial screams.........no harm in that......I'll take that over pre recorded vocals any day...)

Reb, what can I say? WOW...I'm convinced that he can play all of those RIDICULOUS riffs in his sleep...after all we're talking about the guy who during his life away from Winger, successfully filled the shoes of George Lynch in Dokken and those of Steve Vai and John Sykes in Whitesnake...the guy stood there looking like he was having the time of his life while he proceeded to put on an absolute clinic. Something that might have helped Kirk Hammet with his very stiff and boring guitar playing had he attended and paid attention....and without being drunk....

Though I don't know much about John Roth, he did fill in the gaps sonically and seemed to have a very strong voice...ok dude, I accept you as a Winger....he did a great job too.

The show was closed (encore) with what in my opinion are their 3 best songs ever, Seventeen, Madelaine, and Who's The One?....they high-fived all of us on the front row...and said good night.

Up to about 5 years ago, I had a hard time letting go of the hair metal genre and hair metal years, (many of my friends used to tease me about this) but more than anything I guess, I've just always resented the 90s on many levels, musically and personally...when the 2000s rolled around, and I turned 30, life took on a different perspective... I've embraced and celebrated my 30s, and have let go of those days... which is what made last night so special. Though I could obviously tell that the Winger guys are no longer "kids" they have such a youthful demeanor to them which gives me the insipiration to never lose mine...After the concert, out in the parking lot where their large tour bus was parked, they came out one by one starting with Reb Beach who was stilled drenched in sweat from the show, and not only took the time to stand around and take pictures and sign autographs with the fans, but they took the time to hang and chat, sure there was security present but it wasnt a bunch of meatheads creating a chasm between the band and he fans (kudos to the Culture Room on this)...out came Kip, out came Rod, who mentioned to some of the people there that being in the South Florida night air brought back so many memories of going to school at the University of Miami...."Something in the Air" he said...you really have to spend time here to know what he's talking about....and he's right....the coming out and hanging with the fans after the show...this was, in my opinion, the coolest and most unassuming thing that I have seen a band do in a long, long time...it was as if to say, thanks for sticking around after the show...and for the last 15 years...

As Julio and I turned to leave, after Julio got his last picture taken with Rod, I saw last night's "Mary" walking with her friends out of the parking lot and into the night and like that ended another terrific Winger show and another "Mary" walked out of my life...

~Why is God messing with me??

I am starting to wonder if sometimes a town just aint big enough?...and if it isn't... is the country or the world ever big enough for some things...is it possible to outrun destiny? even when you want to be a man of principles and stay away from the forbidden fruit? what if the forbidden fruit runs into you at a gas station when your world is marching in a straight line between the hash marks?

What is a man suppossed to do? how do you silence your heart when it wants to beat a hole out of your chest...? how do you push the beads of sweat in your palms back into the pores of the skin...? How do you act normal around the one thing you've always wanted as much as you want your next breath? How do you capture a whirlwind in your mind? how do you do it so that the 4 minutes that it takes for her to fill up her gas tank can play in real time, real color, real audio and real 5-senses highdefinition inside your closed eyelids?

What do you do so that when she gives you that "I havent seen you in forever" hug you can freeze the fabric of time and you can feel her face brush against yours just enough to say with her heart "...this is just a little reminder to your heart of what I feel like..."

How can a man stop the world so that as his hands over lap themselves around her back he can hold her and squeeze her even tighter and then pull away to look her in the eyes and say, "I think about you 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and I have done so for the last 15 years!"...how do you back to normality when the last smile you see out of her is an extended look and smile in which she is making it 100% obvious that there is so much more she wants to say, so much unfinished bussiness to tend to...and what, that you own could you give, for a trascript of the best 10 seconds of her thoughts as she got back in the car and drove away...

How do you stop thinking about the forbidden fruit? how do you put your heart away and ignore it? if someone knows, please let me know. I really want to know.

~I am he...

I am the one going to the point of no return, the one with the superbowl shuffle...the one who watched the shuttle explode the first time...I am the one who took up for Ozzy when they accussed him of biting a bat...I learned to just say no, and then did...I watched in awe when A-Ha went from man to cartoon to man to cartoon...I had a crush on Daisy Duke and on every single Hee Haw girl except for Lulu...I saw when Alexis Carrington got her but kicked by Linda Evans...I owned several 8 tracks and thought I was cool...I am a child of the 80s...I am he...

I loved Van Halen and painted checkerboards on my Vans...I crisscrossed my shoelaces and got carpetburns from learning to break dance...I got pretty good and then it went away...only to come back when I am too old to try...I wore acid washed jeans and aviator sunglasses...I tied a bandana around my neck...I drove a Trans Am like The Bandit...I roller skated and camped out for tickets to see U2...I bought a CD and secretly preferred cassettes...

I did not start the fire...and held on to the nights...I liked it hot...and rang hells bells...I saved it till the morning after and I walked like an Egyptian...I lived on a prayer and took the highway to the danger zone...rocked in time and it was tricky...and I fought for my right to party... and I though I was cool...I am a child of the 80s...I am he...

I switched a channel by hand...I watched a movie in Betamax...I can show you how to change a needle on a record player...and how to properly care for vynil records...I collected garbage pail kids...and had a crush on Tiffany...I hated the new kids on the block because my girlfriend loved them...I secretly pulled for Argentina and told everyone I pulled for Britain during the Falkans war...I watched on my tv screen as Chernobyl blew up...and watched Mike Tyson's head hit the canvas for the first time...I am a child of the 80s...I am he.

I went back to the future...and took a day off like Ferris Beuler..(it did not go that well for me)...I quoted Airplane...and yes, I cried watching Ghost...I've said Beetlejuice 3 times and nothing happened...I watched The Smurfs and The Chipmunks...and even the Punky Brewster Cartoon...Chuck Norris was a hero...and Bo Derek was a goddess...I dreamed a little dream and busted ghosts...I wore a full metal jacket in the middle of my platoon...I drank Kool-Aid and Shasta...and did the Karate Kid Kick...I am a child of the 80s I am he...

I fell in love with a girl and never fell out...she was a child of the 80s...yeah that's still me.

~Have You Ever?

Isnt it cool to find yourself singing someone else's song but feel like it was written for you? I guess maybe there's a little comfort in knowing that you're not the only one who's ever felt a certain way...if you have i-Tunes...go get this song by Def Leppard...

HAVE YOU EVER?

Here I am, Im in the wrong bed again
Its a game I just cant win
There you are breathin soft on my skin, yeah
Still you wont let me in
So come on

Why save your kisses for a rainy day
Baby let the moment take your heart away

Have you ever needed someone so bad, yeah
Have you ever wanted someone you just couldnt have
Did you ever try so hard that your world just fell apart
Have you ever needed someone so bad
And youre the girl I gotta have
I gotta have you baby, yeah

There you go, midnight promises again, yeah
But theyre broken by the dawn
You wanna go further, faster everyday, baby
But in the morning youll be gone
And Im alone

Why save your kisses for a rainy day
Baby let the moment take your heart away

Have you ever needed someone so bad, yeah
Have you ever wanted someone you just couldnt have
Did you ever try so hard that your world just fell apart
Have you ever needed someone so bad

Every dream I dream is like
Some kinda rash n reckless scene
To give out such crazy love
You must be some kinda drug
And if my time dont ever come
For me youre still the one
Damned if I dont, damned if I do
I gotta get a fix on you

Have you ever needed someone so bad, yeah
Have you ever wanted someone you just couldnt have
Did you ever try so hard that your world just fell apart
Have you ever needed someone so bad, so bad
Have you ever wanted someone, have you ever wanted someone, yeah
Did you ever try so hard that your wourld just fell apart
Have you ever needed someone so bad
And youre the girl I gotta have
I gotta have you baby, yeah

Its a game I just cant win, oh

Have you ever needed someone so bad, yeah
Have you ever wanted someone
Have you ever wanted someone, you just couldnt have
Did you ever tried so hard, yeah

Leaving Just Ain't Fun

I am writing from my sister's home in Anniston AL, this sleepy town is where she makes her home with her husband Bill and two beautiful kids...and now...my 3 rug rats...

I came up to spend the weekend with them and had a blast with them attending their soccer game (we lost 3-2) Diego almost scored...Anthony, well it's slowly coming to him...now I must leave on my 5 hour drive back to Charlotte and 10 minutes into my drive I will miss them like crazy...as I type, my sister is working with Victoria in teaching her Spanish...it is really cute...

there is no point to tonight's post, no anecdote, no application for me...only an entry to remind me every time I read this post next week just how much I love them right now, how much I treasure them and how much it sucks to be away from them...having said this...here with my sis is the best place on earth for them to be at right now...so now to quote Jude Cole..."Start the car...gotta move..."

My Silent Hero

I often speak of my guitar heroes, my favorite movie directors, my favorite epic figures and those who I feel have shaped the world and humanity for the better...the ones who have stood up to adversity and said "I will not go quietly"...those who inspired others to follow and make history. These days though my hero has a different face...these days my hero is someone who has been there next to me all of my life...my hero is a woman very close to me who made room for 5 were before there were 2...my hero is my sister. My sister answered a call to love and care for my children when they needed a mother in their life...she goes to school, cares for her 2 beautiful kids, and yet finds the strength and energy to care for mine as well while I run around the world playing television. She knew that my work demands would make it impossible for me to watch and nurture them they way they needed to be nurtured and she pleaded with me to let them go with her. Doing so was one of the hardest things that I have ever done because I knew that they would miss me on top of missing their mother not to mention the fact that I miss them like crazy. I love my little kids like nothing else in this world. I speak to them daily and go out there to see them every chance that I get...The truth is that children need a mother and in the darkest of times my sister became a beacon of light for my future...and a pair of arms to hold my little treasures tight and kiss them when it's time for bed... For this I will never be able to repay her, but only to be in her debt forever...I love you Karin, you are my sister and my hero and I'm thinking of you tonight.

~...and then you know why you did...

Just when I think I've got life all figured out, a new curve ball the size of a watermelon hits me between the eyes and I wake up 2 hours later with a headache and an epiphony...what if you finally realize that its not just a streak, all of you, all along your heart was simply stubborn...no! beyond stubborn?? and once a long time ago you fell in love...? what if the day came along when you were suppossed to let go, but you did not?...what if spring, winter, summers, and falls rolled by...many times...and your heart still held on?

What if you found love and were devoted, commited and respectful, but that memory was always on the fringe...like that alarm clock in the empty hotel room next to yours...it goes off and it is playing your favorite song at 5 am but there is no one in that room to shut if off...you love the song but right now is not the best time for it to go off...because as much as you'd love to indulge yourself in it...it just cannot be...but you pull that pillow really hard over your head so that some Saturday morning you can listen to it fondly without the flashback of the hotel room....what if love was like that?

What if your stubborn heart holds on year after year? what if you continue to dream of a time that might never come...? what if even in the most clear of realistic mindsets those thoughts keep you warm in the winter? ...what if they light your days when they are the darkest? what if they mend your heart when it's broken? what if????

And then the question....is it love or infatuation? why cant' I let this go..."God, if this is not of You, please take it away...I want only what You want for me and nothing less...but if this is not of You, I need for you to supernaturally take it from my heart...because I can't do it on my own...." but it never goes away...it stays there...and if you really believe in God, you must deduce that He IS answering your prayer...

So you hold on year after year, and you think of her, and you pray for her, and you make a million plans for a million days that will never come...and you write 100 songs, that she'll never hear, and wake up a hundred times to the same hundred disappointment of a hundred dreams that you were having...

But then one day the phone rings and the familiar voice on the other end of the line says things that validate every single day that you had these feelings and thought these thoughts and dreamed those dreams...for once in your life a fairy tale ending doesnt seem impossible and you have to pinch yourself to make sure that you're not dreaming AGAIN!...you just know it's gonna happen...you wait for that silly segue into lucidity but it never comes...no stranger comes up to you and for no apparent reason starts to say "wake up...wake up"...no this time the pinch hurts, and this time you REMAIN in a dreamlike state...with your eyes wide open...

You think of all the times that you thought of letting go...you thought of giving up, you thought of moving on...and you wonder why you didn't...her words fall on your heart like seeds on potting soil...you wonder why you held on...and then you know why you did...

destiny.

The only thing as stubborn as my heart.